Notting Hill Carnival

The Notting Hill Carnival an annual event for the Afro-Caribbean communities of London to celebrate their culture and heritage. It is full of bright colours, feathers, Reggae and Soca music, dancers, and millions of people enjoying the carnival atmosphere.

I had heard about the carnival and thought it would be a great afternoon, but wasn’t really sure what to expect. All the websites warned of pick pockets and public transport nightmares, and we were, after all, daring to go to the big Sunday parade. The weather had been pretty lousy all weekend, but we thought what the hell, let’s go and see what happens, we can stay for a bit and if its a nightmare we can go, its free after all.

Once we arrived, we followed the sounds of whistles and horns to the main parade street, where west London some how turned into the Rio Carnival! It was incredible, the atmosphere was amazing, bright colours, everyone was dancing, cheering and laughing all in spite of the rain. There was a heavy police presence but this seemed to be more about controlling the crowd so they didn’t get hit by a float that keeping people in line from having ‘too much’ fun. The Sound systems in the surrounding streets were so loud I felt like I was vibrating across the footpath and the smell of BBQ and jerk chicken was everywhere, my mouth is still watering just thinking about it!